As I wrap up this trip to Belize, I'm also preparing to return to Denver and get back to work. I am so excited to share the closing reception of "The Power of Rejuvenation" with you all! I would love to see you and talk about what this piece means to me and to US! I hope to see you next week! ❤️ Join us at 1801 California next Wednesday April 13th from 4-6 for the closing receptions of "The Power of Rejuvenation" featuring @seasonsofautumn latest (and largest) body of work. Reposted from @psartconsulting #woodsculpture #brookfieldarts #womenartists #denverarts #psartconsulting #autumntthomas

DVCAI Belize 2022 Day 5 Today was a day of commune and rest so this is a photodump of some images that didn't make it in the last posts.

DVCAI Belize 2022 Day 4 Reposted from @twheelzzzzzzzzzz Day 4: Every breakfast during the exchange is homecooked and shared. I woke up early to help get breakfast going but usually it is Rosie who does the cooking. Our first stop this morning was with Cuban artist Fernando Reyna @fernando_reyna_escalona who curated various exhibits in the Embassy of Mexico in Belize. We got a sneak peak before the space reopens as the country eases out of pandemic mode. But our day was dedicated to visiting Altun Ha, the Mayan city, meaning “Rockstone Water," just 15 miles from our homebase. Anne Marie Arana, our guide for the excavated city, gave a compelling experience of the site. We talked about the trees and plants growing on the site. We talked under the shade of the plum tree, without a shadow. We talked about its rediscovery and discoveries. Some of us climbed the temple of the sun. We ended our evening returning to the Bliss Institute of Creative Arts for a dance recital. The performances ranged from contemporary to traditional, including various cultures that make up Belize. The highlight was the Garifuna songs and drumming. The center gave the recital to raise money for renovations to the cultural center. Thank you @brihaylock for the invite. More pics of this amazing performance coming. #dvcai #dvcaibelize

DVCAI Belize 2022 Day 3: Reposted from @twheelzzzzzzzzzz Day 3: Started our day visiting artist Chelsea Johnston @_chelskels finishing her mural dedicated to the beloved musician Mr. Program. A bold golden yellow celebrates his music, not just tragic story. We drove through the city, along the sea, seeing monuments and historical sites. We were guided by Tony, who provided so much history and cultural insight as he drove us around our visits. During lunch, we also chatted about customs and language. He also told us the city was below sea level, it is the country most vulnerable to sea level rise in Central America. We played and made new friends. We drove past Rosie’s alma mater, the University of the West Indies. We closed the day with presentations from Dvcaeye, a new collective endeavor focusing on bringing together photographers from all over the Caribbean. Founded by Roy Wallace @roanwall, includes many photographers invited on the DVCAI cultural exchanges. Dvcaeye seeks to Forge further community between photographers while portraying richer images of the Caribbean. Founding members include Vanessa Greene @vanessagreenephotography, Izia Lindsay @izialindsay, and Michael Elliot @studio_michaelelliott I leave you with the stars overhead. #dvcai #dvcaibelize #dvcaeye

Belize 2022. Day 2. Reposted from @twheelzzzzzzzzzz Day 2: We started our day visiting the Museum of Belize. The museum, once a jail, was converted 20 years ago and has evolded into a dynamic space that focuses on the history of the country, from the abolition of slavery in colonial Honduras to the complex Belizean cultures housed within its borders. The highlight was the solo exhibit of Pen Cayetano @pen_cayetano curated by Ilona Smiling @ms.i.smiling over 60 paintings, portraying Garífuna culture and the landscape. Shout out to Dr. Keshia Abraham and her team doing inspiring work @drkeshiaabraham. Ms. Smiling led us to The Bliss Institute of Creative Arts for an artist-curated exhibition: Womxn in Art 2022 Reemergence: A Kaleidoscope of Creativity. Briheda Haylock @brihaylock performed her contribution “The Mental Cage,” a powerful, endurance piece that centers empathy, healing, allowing us to address our individual and collective experience of the pandemic. We concluded the day, after more conch fritters and a nap, with an online cultural exchange. Artist @eliza.l.mott offers support with breaking creative blocks and artistic professional practices and @yantis_arts, and @yacine_tilala presented works that encapsulate their distinct practices. The schedule and info is provided in the slideshow for any who would like to share in the program. Artists and scholars are tuning in from all over the Caribbean. Also RIP Selena, we’re dreaming with you. #dvcai #dvcaibelize

Day 0 and 1: Travel days. Spent a lot of time in airports and getting my footing. The humidity and heat are nourishing! Reposted from @twheelzzzzzzzzzz We visited @captainhookshrimprestaurant for dinner, an elevated, opened air (breezy) patio bar in the middle of a salt water shrimp farm with crocodiles and cranes, red mangroves, and cocoplum… the terrain was very similar to south Florida. Tomorrow the International Cultural Exchange Project: Belize (part 2) begins. Since its inception, Diaspora Vibe has taken over 250 Caribbean, Latinx, and African-American artists abroad for residencies and exhibitions. The goal of the International Cultural Exchange (ICEP) program is to build artistic infrastructure and provide significant professional development for artists, educators, and arts administrators in both Miami and the host community. ICE has brought DVCAI artists to countries including Suriname, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts, Dominican Republic, Aruba, Jamaica, Grenada, Barbados, and Belize in an effort to extend the “creative space” beyond Miami.

The first round of pen & pencil sets are ready to ship! Each set ships with its own padauk wood, hand made case and engraving. Check my stories for behind the scenes engraving video and process shots. Visit my bio for details on how to get yours! #kerfcutpens

A lot of you have heard me talk about these for a while and I'm proud to say: these pens and mechanical pencils are in production! Finally! I'm working on an order and figured I'd let you all know that more are available for pre-orders. Traditional pencils are still on their way too. Order yours today and rest assured that you are supporting a Black-woman owned artist business! Step up your professional game with my new collection of padauk wood and resin pens and mechanical pencils. These pens and pencils are smaller versions of my large sculptures, using the same techniques and imbued with the same passion and craftsmanship. My sculptures reflect the ways in which I maneuver bias and these pens and pencils are no exception. They are daily reminders that WE remain in control of our stories and we will continue to write and rewrite them as we see it. Perfect as graduation & retirement gifts, or for any other special occasion that calls for something unique & personalized. More info in my bio and website! • • • • • • • • #kerfcutpens #kerfcutsculpture #blackwoodworkers #blackartist #turnedpens

It's official! I'm on the @tiltwest board and could not be more thrilled! Reposted from @tiltwest Our newest member to join the Tilt West Board is Autumn T. Thomas @seasonsofautumn. She officially joined the board in January of this year, and is working behind the scenes to #tilttheconversation even further. Please join us in welcoming Autumn, Joel and Manuel to the Tilt West Board! 🥳 Autumn T. Thomas (b. 1978) is an interdisciplinary artist currently working in wood sculpture. Her work challenges the boundaries of visual literacy by transforming wood into soft, twisting forms, mimicking the endurance required to thrive amidst the oppression and marginalization of women of color. Minimal in design, Thomas' work personifies analogous, brown bodies as whispering forms of subversion, affecting prejudice by way of perception and visual literacy.  Thomas is a Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI) 2022 Catalyst Award recipient. She received her MFA in Book Arts and Printmaking from The University of the Arts, Philadelphia in 2017 and her BFA in Visual Communication from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015. She lives and works in Denver, CO. #tiltingtheconversation